| DIY Basics: Screw Fasteners |
From "Ask DIY"
episode ADI-601 |
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Whether it's a large home-improvement project or just a small repair, you're likely to need to use screws to fasten some of your pieces together. At the home center or hardware store, you're likely to find literally hundreds of kinds of screws. How do you choose the right one? Brad Staggs provides some basic information about screw fasteners.
- Bugle-head screws with flat heads (figure A) are made so that their head will be flush with the wood surface when installed. These, like most screws, come in a variety of lengths and finishes. Finishes include stainless steel, coated-deck and ordinary dry-wall. Any of these can be used if you're working with wood. Stainless steel are the most expensive of the three, followed by coated-deck and drywall screws.
- Screw-heads (figure B) vary according to what type of driver will be used with them -- standard (also called "slotted"), Phillips-head or Robertson (also called "square-drive") head. The Robertson-drive screws give improved torque and they rarely strip.
- Raised bugle-head or pan-head screws have a domed head (figure C). The bugle-head type can add a decorative touch to some wood projects. Pan-heads have a head that sits completely above the surface, and are often used to join surfaces like oak, plastic or sheet-metal to wood or other substrates.
- Lag-screws (figure D) are a heavy-duty fastener used for big jobs like fastening deck boards, rim joists or anchoring heavy objects.
- The screw you use should have a length about two thirds the thickness of your project. So, for instance, if you're fastening something to a 3-inch board, your screw should be about 2 inches long.
- Important: Drilling a pilot hole -- about the same depth as the shank of your screw -- before installing the screw will make the job go much easier.
- Tip: Ordinary bar-soap makes a great lubricant for helping sink screws into stubborn surfaces like hardwoods. Simply rub the threads of the screw on the soap until the thread are coated, then install your screw.
RESOURCES :
The Complete Illustrated Guide to Everything Sold in Hardware Stores
by Steve Ettlinger
(revised edition 1998, Macmillan)
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.
Decorative Hardware: Interior Designing With Knobs, Handles, Latches, Locks, Hinges. . .
Model: 0060392894
Author: Liz Gordon
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